


Second Chances

by Egobang_for_dayz



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Pining, Polyamory Negotiations, Polygrumps, Temporary Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:41:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22026511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egobang_for_dayz/pseuds/Egobang_for_dayz
Summary: Arin Hanson has been putting off confessing to Dan Avidan for many years. He’s finally worked up the courage, only it might be too late.
Relationships: Barry Kramer/Brian Wecht, Dan Avidan/Arin Hanson, Dan Avidan/Suzy Berhow/Arin Hanson, Ross O'Donovan/Brian Wecht, Suzy Berhow/Arin Hanson
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1: The Phone Call

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Welcome to the pain. If you’ve read my work before, you know I love hurt/comfort, and that no matter how sad, I always end happy. Enjoy!

3:00 AM  
Arin jolted awake, unable to process for a moment what the sound piercing his ears was. He looked at the nightstand, and realized it was his phone ringing. He saw dan’s name and goofy picture on the screen. “Hello?” Arin answered, still groggy. 

“Is this Arin hanson?” A voice he didn’t recognize questioned. Arin was awake now. 

“Uh yeah? Who is this?” Arin was already running through possibilities in his mind. 

“My name is Stephen,” the man told him. “I’m calling to inform you there’s been an accident.” Arin sat up, heart racing. 

“An accident?” Arin realized he could hear the faint sound of sirens coming through the phone. 

“Yes your friends Leigh Avidan and Brian Wecht were involved in a car accident.” He sounded like he was reading something when he said their names, their ID’s Arin reasoned. 

“Oh my god. What- what happened?” Arin was already getting up and grabbing clothes. Suzy stirred awake when he turned the light on. 

“Their taxi was T-Boned. Brian is awake and talking- but Leigh is not. We are taking them to Good Samaritan Hospital.” 

“Uh- ok- I’ll be there. Thank you.” Arin hung up. 

“What’s going on?” Suzy asked, concern etched across her face.

“Brian and dan- they were in a car accident.”

—-

2:00 AM

Dan yawned as they climbed into their taxi. Touring had taken everything out of him and Dan was more than ready to sink into his own giant bed and sleep for the next two days. “I’m exhausted.” He told his band mate, leaning on Brian’s shoulder. Brian rolled his eyes but made no move to get dan off of him. The taxi pulled away from the airport. Dan pulled out his phone and looked through his Instagram before he found himself reading through his last few texts to Arin. They were going to go see the latest stupid movie and get some sushi once dan had recovered from jet lag. Dan put his phone away and closed his eyes. The taxi was taking them to Brian’s apartment first, and then to dan’s house. It was only about twenty minutes, at least at 2 am when LA traffic was almost nonexistent. Brian found himself drifting off too. 

A bump in the road jostled Brian awake. He looked out his window to see where they were, and then glanced out dan’s window. Brian looked over just in time to see two headlights coming at them at an alarming speed. Brian opened his mouth to say something, but it was too late. Everything went black. 

—-  
2:15 AM  
Brian opened his eyes and groaned. His entire right leg was on fire. Slowly what he had seen last came back to him. Horror filled Brian as he realized the car was pinned against a guard rail, the hood of another car somehow inside theirs. “Dan!” Brian yelled, his best friend and band mate was pinned by the other car, and wasn’t moving. Brian tried to move but he couldn’t. “Please hang on Danny, please please hang on.” Brian pleaded. He could see dan’s chest rising and falling ever so slightly. He was breathing, for now. Brian heard sirens somewhere in the distance. “Help is coming. You hear that? They’re coming for us.” Brian wasn’t sure if he was trying to comfort himself or his unconscious best friend. He could feel blood pouring down his leg, and the car seat below them was wet. Brian wasn’t sure how much of it was his and how much was Dan’s. Brian kept begging Dan to stay with him as the sirens got closer. Finally the ambulance arrived. He could hear someone say they needed more ambulances. “Hey!” Brian yelled as loud as he could muster. A face appeared on his side, a male paramedic. 

“Hey man, try to stay calm. We’re gonna get you out of here.” He told Brian, his voice irritatingly calm. 

“Help him first!” Brian gestured to Dan.

“We will. But we have to get you out first to get to him. So you gotta work with us here.” The paramedic replied. Brian nodded and the man opened the door. Another paramedic joined him and they pulled Brian from the wreckage. Brian cried out as his leg was yanked free from under the other car. They helped him to sit on the back of their ambulance and the man knelt down to begin looking at Brian’s leg. A second and third ambulance pulled up and another set of paramedics raced back towards the car. Brian didn’t even notice the paramedic cut his pant leg. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the car. He needed to see dan be pulled out. The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow until finally Dans limp body was pulled from the wreck and placed on a gurney. 

“Is he gonna be ok?” Brian asked to no one in particular. One of the paramedics with dan stopped to talk to him. 

“He’s not good. But we’re going to do our best.” She told him. Brian nodded and she jogged to catch up. Brian watched as dan was loaded up and driven away. The drivers of the cars were put into their own ambulances and driven off. The female paramedic helping Brian went back to the car, and found dan’s phone and both their wallets. She handed dan’s phone to the man and took his place bandaging Brian’s leg. 

“Call Arin hanson!” Brian told him, and gave the code to dan’s phone. From here Brian could see cracks in the screen but it still worked. Police had arrived by now and Brian told them what happened the best he could. Then Brian was loaded up too, and they raced into the night.


	2. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Grumps wait for news on Dan.

Dan was floating. Darkness surrounded him. He could hear a faint steady beep- but then it left. And he was surrounded by nothing. He felt a strange sense of peace. He couldn’t feel his body, but he knew it was there. He could feel himself rising, and then before him was a light. Dan drifted closer to it. 

“It is not your time.”

Dan heard the voice speak but he didn’t recognize it, and it seemed to be coming from all around him. 

“Go back. Find your soulmate. He’s waiting.”

“Soulmate? A guy? I’m not gay.” Dan protested. But the voice did not respond. The light faded, and dan was sinking again. Fast.

—-  
Arin paced the waiting room floor. Suzy Barry and Ross were seated near him. Suzy watched him pace but let him do it. They were all on edge. Dan was in surgery, and had been when they got here. Brian was awake, but his leg needed work. Arin couldn’t rest until Dan was out of surgery. Every moment he had almost told dan his feelings and then stopped short was racing through his mind. He didn’t know what he would do with himself if dan died on the operating table. Suddenly, it all hit Arin. He crumpled to the floor. He didn’t sob, but tears tracked silently down his face. Suzy rushed to him and pulled him close. She was saying something but Arin couldn’t hear. At some point he was helped into a chair and Suzy just kept holding him. Arin ran out of the energy to cry after a while, and stared numbly at the floor. 

Somewhere on a floor above them Brian was irritated to say the least. No one had any updates on dan. The doctor was taking forever pulling the glass and whatever else out of Brian’s leg. He had denied sedation. He needed to stay awake in case something happened to dan. Brian looked at the nurse assisting the doctor. “Can you check again? I need to know how it’s going.” The doctor and the nurse shared a look and the nurse left to check in with Dans surgical team. 

“I’m almost done debridding your leg. I’ll need to set it, bandage it and splint it. I can’t give you a cast because the bandages will need to be changed. You’ll need physical therapy and a cane for a while.” The doctor explained as she pulled the last piece of glass from Brian’s leg. 

“I’ll do whatever it takes.” Brian responded gruffly. The doctor had given him a local anesthetic, so he didn’t feel it when she cleaned his leg with antiseptic and sewed the larger gashes. He did, however, feel it when she set the bone. Brian clenched his teeth and groaned but didn’t move. The nurse came back in a moment later and Brian looked at him expectantly. 

“They’re still working on him. They’ve stopped the majority of the internal bleeding. They need to work on his broken bones and the external wounds next. Your friends in bad shape. But his surgeon is hopeful. And she’s top notch.” The nurse informed him. Brian relaxed a little. Dan was at least alive. 

—-

After several hours a nurse walked through the double doors to the waiting room. Arin watched carefully as she read the chart in her hands. She looked up and around. “Who is here for Leigh avidan?” Arin rocketed to his feet. She smiled and came over to them. “Leigh is very injured. But he has a very good chance. The surgeon is still working on getting rid of all the debris and closing his wounds. He will still be in surgery for a while. But he should recover. His right leg is broken, along with his right arm. He will need to be in the hospital for a long time. He will need a lot of physical therapy. It’s going to be a very long road for him.” Arin felt sick. He had to sit back down. 

“When can we see him?” Suzy asked, but she sounded a mile away. Arin put his head in his hands. 

“When he’s out of surgery and awake, one of you will be allowed to see him. He will be in the ICU for a few days. And he may not be awake for long. He will be on a lot of pain killers when he wakes up.” The nurse answered so calmly. Like she’s given this speech a thousand times before. Didn’t she know that Arin’s world was falling apart? She left after that. 

“Hey, it’s going to be ok. You heard her. Dans going to recover.” Suzy said into Arin’s ear. He pulled himself upright to look at her. 

“But what if it isn’t? What if we lose him? The show will end. I can’t replace him. He’s- my best friend.” Arin scrubbed his hand over his face trying not to start crying again. After some time, the others drifted to sleep in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Suzy was asleep against Arin. But Arin was still awake, watching the clock tick down the hours. The sun had risen at this point. Dan had been in surgery for almost 8 hours. The double doors opened again and a surgeon came in, still in scrubs. Arin swallowed hard. 

“You’re here for Leigh?” She asked. Arin nodded and gently woke Suzy. There was no one else left in the waiting room but their rag tag group. Arin stood to talk to the surgeon. 

“Your friend is alive. I expect him to make a full recovery, but he will need to stay here for a while to make sure he’s healing properly. He’s getting set up in the ICU as we speak. One of you can come back and wait for him to wake up.” The surgeon explained. 

“Go Arin.” A groggy Suzy said behind him. Arin glanced back and then nodded to the surgeon. He steeled himself as he followed her down the hall. Past doors and doors of other patients in critical care. Arin briefly wondered why they were all here, but then the surgeon stopped. She pushed the door open and Arin saw Dan for the first time since he left for tour. 

Dan was dwarfed by the machines towering over him, every one keeping an eye on a different vital part of dan. He was covered in bandages. His right leg and right arm were in a cast. He had a chest tube in, and an IV on the arm that wasn’t in a cast. An oxygen mask was over his nose and mouth. The surgeon pulled a chair close to Dans bed. “You can wait for him to wake up. But he probably won’t be awake for more than a few minutes at a time for the first few days. He’s heavily medicated. His doctor will come in to check on him.” With that the surgeon left, and Arin was left alone with nothing but the beeping heart monitor and the steady flow of the oxygen. Arin hesitantly took Dans hand and sat down. 

“Oh, Danny.” Arin murmured. He felt like crying all over again. He’d never seen dan like this. His face was covered in bruises and scraps. There wasn’t an inch of Dan that wasn’t injured. But he was alive, and arin clung desperately time that. 

Dan blinked awake, but grimaced and closed his eyes again. The world was so bright. Where was he? He slowly opened his eyes again, his eyelids heavy. He tried to look around but couldn’t really move. Then he saw him. Arin was holding his hand and resting his head on dan’s bed. Dans brows furrowed. Arin was bathed in a bright white light, the very same light dan had seen before. Dan didn’t really understand where he was, or what had happened, but he mustered all the strength he could to give Arin’s hand a gentle squeeze. Arin sat up and looked at him, relief watched over Arin. 

“Hey, Danny. You’re awake.” Arin smiled, tears in his eyes. Dan tried to reach up to comfort Arin but he couldn’t move his hand. His whole body felt so heavy. Dan looked at arin confused. “Do you know what happened?” Arin asked him. Dan was able to shake his head just a little. “You and Brian got in a car accident. Brian’s ok. You got the worst of it.” Dan stared at the ceiling. He could barely process what Arin had told him. He felt his eyes closing again and tried to fight but he couldn’t. He fell back asleep. 

Arin sighed. He knew it was better that dan rested, but he hated the confusion in dan’s eyes. There was a soft knock on the door and a doctor came in. He smiled at arin. “He woke up. For a minute.” Arin told him. 

“Oh good. I don’t expect him to spend much time awake for a couple days. But it is good that he woke up a little.” The doctor checked dan’s vitals before turning to Arin. “I’m sorry but, ICU visiting hours are over. You can come back in a couple hours when they start again.” Arin hesitated but he stood to leave again. He gave dan’s hand one last squeeze before making his way back to the waiting room. Suzy Barry and Ross all looked at him expectantly. 

“He woke up, but not for long. He’s- in rough shape. But he’s alive. That’s the only thing that matters. He’s alive.” Arin was assuring himself more than anything else. Ross stood up and stretched. 

“Well, should we go get some food and naps and come back?” Ross offered. Arin shook his head. 

“You guys go on. I can’t leave dan.” Arin sat down, ready to wait until the next visiting hours. Suzy kissed his cheek. 

“I’ll bring you some food and a change of clothes when I come back.” She said, collecting her things. Arin handed her the car keys. 

“Thank you.” Arin said, kissing her. Suzy smiled gently at him before leaving with Ross and Barry. And then it was just Arin, alone with his thoughts.


	3. Recovery Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dans finally awake.

Everytime dan woke up he was more confused than the last. The room was so bright, his mind was so foggy, when he woke up it was never long enough to take anything in. Dan had no idea how many days had passed when he was finally able to fight to stay awake. His eyes adjusted to the light very slowly. When they finally did he realized he was in the hospital. Right. Someone had said something about an accident. Was it- dan looked next to him. No one was there. Dan heard the door open, and he looked towards it. Arin came in. With a start dan remembered his experience. Arin was still surrounded by that white light. It faded after a moment, and dan chalked it up to still adjusting to being awake. 

“Oh! You’re up!” Arin seemed excited- and exhausted. Dan noticed he had bags under his eyes, his hair was pulled into a sloppy bun. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. 

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Dan asked, barely able to bring his voice above a whisper after being asleep so long. Arin looked at him confused and then started to laugh. “Hey! Don’t laugh at my voice.” Dan tried to say. 

“No, no. It’s not your voice. I’m over the moon to hear your voice again. It’s just you were in a terrible accident, you’ve been in and out of sleep for an entire week now and the very first thing you worried about is me? You are- I missed you.” Arin sat back down with him. Dan wanted to hold Arin’s hand but he still didn’t quite have control of himself. 

“A week? What- what exactly happened?” Dan was almost afraid to hear the answer. He didn’t really want the memories to come back. But he knew it was something he needed to know. 

Arin took a breath. “You- were almost to Brian’s house. But another car t-boned your taxi. On your side.” Arin answered slowly. He didn’t want to overload dan with information. Dan stared up at the ceiling. 

“Where’s Brian?” Dan asked after s long moment. 

“Brian is upstairs in his own room making life hell for the nurses up there. You’ll be put into the same room as him once you can move out of the icu.” Arin said. Dan laughed a little. 

“Glad to know Brian is acting like himself. What happened to him?” Dan really hoped Brian wasn’t too hurt. 

“He broke his right leg, but that’s really it. You- you got the worst of it.” Arin gave Dans hand a squeeze. A moment later the door opened again and it was dans doctor. 

“Oh good, you seem alert. I’d like to speak to you alone in that case.” The doctor said. Arin nodded and got up. 

“I’ll be back danny. See you soon.” Arin left with a wave.

“What’s wrong with me?” Dan asked, looking up at his doctor. The doctor sat down in the chair Arin vacated.

“Well,” he began, “your right leg and right arm needed to be repaired with pins. Most of your right ribs are fractured. You- you coded in the ambulance on the way over here. Your heart was stopped for a few seconds. But they got you back. A lot of internal damage that we were able to repair, and of course, the external damage that comes with getting hit by another car. But I think with time, and physical therapy, and support, you’ll make a full recovery.” The doctor smiled at dan. 

“Wow that- that’s a lot to take in. When will I be moved out of the icu?” Dan was anxious to be in the same room as Brian.

“In a couple more days. As long as you keep healing as well as you have been. I’ll come to check on you before shift change.” The doctor gave Dans vitals one more once over before leaving. Dan laid one his bed and tried to process what the doctor had told him. He thought about his parents. Someone needed to call them. He didn’t even know where his phone was. Dan decided he would bring it up when Arin came back. 

Arin returned after eating lunch. Dans eyes were closed when he came back and Arin worried he’d missed the time of dan being awake. But dan opened his eyes when Arin sat down again. Dan smiles at him and Arin felt his heart soar. He had come so close to losing this beautiful soul forever. Arin vowed for cherish every moment from now on. 

“Do you know where my phone is? I need to call my parents and tell them.” Dan still felt weak but they needed to know what had happened, and Dan wasn’t above admitted he was more than scared and needed to talk to them. 

“Uh, your phone got busted but I think it still works. If you remember their numbers you can use mine.” Arin pulled his own phone out of his pocket. With a lot of effort dan reached for the phone, and Arin met him halfway. Dan dialed and Arin put it on speakerphone so dan didn’t have to worry about holding it up to his ear before stepping out to let dan have a moment. As dan listened to the phone ring he felt a little nervous. He didn’t want them to worry. 

“Hello?” Debbie sounded confused as she answered. 

“Hi Debbie. It’s Danny. I’m calling from Arin’s phone.” Dan started. “I- Brian and i- we were in a car accident coming home from tour. We’re both alive but I’m- im pretty banged out.” Dan decided to leave out the fact that his heart had stopped briefly. He hadn’t even fully processed it himself. 

“Oh, oh my god. Avi and I will be on the next flight.” Debbie said in a tone that left no room to argue. In truth dan was relieved to hear it. They talked for a few minutes before dan yawned and Debbie told him to rest and said goodbye. Arin came back in a moment later. Dan just set Arin’s phone down, too tired to hand it back. 

“My parents are going to fly out. I need more sleep.” Dan muttered, already closing his eyes. Arin sat back down and took Dans hand again. He said something, but dan was already asleep.


	4. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dans parents visit.

Dan was chatting with Arin a few days later when a nurse came in. It was finally time to move dan out of the ICU. Arin stepped out and headed down to the cafeteria to get food and let the team do what they needed to with Dan. It was a relief to see Dan moved, that was an indication he was making progress. Arin stared at the food protected by a sneeze guard. Unappealing sandwiches that looked like they’d been there for several days, various prepackaged salads. Arin decided on a fresh appearing orange and a bottle of water. Arin just finished paying when he heard someone call his name behind him. Arin turned around, and there were Dans parents. 

“Oh, Debbie, Avi, hello. You guys came on a good day, Dans just being moved out of the ICU and then he’ll be able to have more visitors. I was just grabbing some lunch while I wait.” Arin gestured to a table asking them to join him. 

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. How is he? Be honest with me Arin.” Debbie looked at Arin hopefully. 

“He’s- ok. He’s able to stay awake longer now. He has a really long way to go. But his doctor thinks he’ll make a full recovery.” Arin told her honestly. Relief swept over her. 

“I’m so glad to hear that.” Debbie said with a smile. Arin glances at Avi, he was quiet, and Arin could see the gears turning like he was just taking in the conversation. They caught up for a minute as Arin ate his orange. Debbie briefly scolded him for not eating a full lunch, unable to stop herself from mothering everyone around her. Arin didn’t mind a bit, she was so kind. It was clear where dan got his heart. Arin lead them upstairs to Brian’s room, which was now Dan and Brian’s room. This floor seemed brighter somehow, it seemed more hopeful. Maybe it was the bigger windows allowing the LA sunshine to warm the hall, or maybe it was just because this meant Dan was out of danger. Arin knocked on the door before peeking his head in. 

“Hey Danny, you have some visitors.” Arin smiles as he spoke, and pushed open the door all the way. Dans whole face lit up at the sight of his parents. 

“Debbie, Avi. Oh today is great. I’m back with Brian and now you guys are here.” Dan lifted his good hand and gestured them over. Debbie fretted over Dan, clearly a little overwhelmed by Dans current state. Avi spoke briefly to Brian and then they traded. Arin found himself smiling watching them. They were obviously a family, with a lot of love and care for each other. Arin decided to leave them to it and turned to leave. “Arin, wait!” Dan called behind him. Arin looked back to dan. “Please stay.” Dan smiled at him and there was no way Arin could deny him. Arin joined in the reunion. 

—-

“It was great to see my parents.” Dan said, more to the ceiling than anything else. He knew Brian was listening. It was just them in their hospital room. Dan felt a lot better not being alone. 

“Yeah, it was. How are you feeling Danny?” Dan could hear the worry in Brian’s voice. Dan looked over at him but Brian was also focused on the ceiling. 

“I’m ok. I’m still on a lot of pain medication. I- I coded Brian.” Dan wasn’t entirely sure why he told Brian that. He was afraid if he said it to Arin, arin would crumble, and dan needed to say it out loud. It had been circling his mind, and dan hoped by voicing it to the universe it would stop. Brian snapped to look at him now. 

“You- really? Oh my god.” Brian responded. Dan couldn’t recall a time he’d seen Brian shaken, until now. For a moment Dan considered telling Brian about his experience. He changed his mind, he could already hear Brian telling him it was bullshit and giving him a logical explanation. Something about it being a hallucination of Dans mind in a desperate attempt to keep him alive. Dan decided to keep the experience tucked into the back of his mind, something to hold onto. Fact or fiction, Dan chose to believe it anyway. Maybe he did have a soulmate after all. 

Maybe, just maybe, it was Arin.


End file.
